Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Nats PR Fail History

While I suppose it's possible that they're celebrating one of the Negro Leagues, I'd bet that that's not what they're going for, and that the PR staff who put that out is ignorant. (Since what I do is assume the worst in people, ya know?)

The Negro Leagues is the term given to any number of (at first) loosely coordinated Negro baseball teams. In the early days, it really wasn't organized exactly the way we'd envision as a league today, but as the team owners saw potential for growth (notably through Rube Foster's efforts), the organized. 1920 saw the creation of the Negro National League. Later, the Eastern Colored League would form up, and it's their meetings which became the Negro Leagues World Series. A number of other 'major' Negro Leagues would form, disband and reform over time, so the exact composition was essentially always in flux.

So it's not ok to honor the "Negro League." That'd be like trying to honor the "Major League". Which one?

Worse things have happened. Hopefully it's not too late to correct the error. A "Salute to the Negro League" t-shirt might be a welcome addition to ome third-world person' wardrobe, right alongside those Patriots 19-0 Super Bowl XLII tees.

Good catch Chris. It would be nice if this promo were used to educate fans about the inspiring history of the Negro leagues, rather than just a PR gesture with some cool looking uniforms.

While we're on the subject of promos, the list is pretty darn lame. Not that I really care, but how many T-shirts and hats do you really want? What happened to the nifty coolers, the umbrella, the blanket. Bobbleheads come and go, but a portable cooler to carry a beer to the beach in? Now that's a promo!

I love those throw back jerseys and all the discussion about how things used to be. Mainly, because it shows how far we've come, and makes the point that we do have the potential to keep moving forward.

The fact that baseball remains the same, kinda, shows we as we grow, we can keep the best part of the past intact, and move forward...ever forward.

On the history point, it's also interesting that they've scheduled Roberto Clemente Day (9/3) for an apparently random Wednesday night game against the Phillies. It's not his birthday, it's not the anniversary of his passing, it's not even against the Pirates. What's the connection here?